Overview
- The move follows a civil lawsuit filed in mid‑September 2026 by a former Cornell student who says she was drugged and gang‑raped at the Chi Phi fraternity house on October 19, 2024.
- Governor Kathy Hochul said newly reported records raised serious questions about how Cornell police and the Tompkins County district attorney handled the matter and that those concerns eroded her confidence in the local prosecution.
- Tompkins County DA Matthew Van Houten initially declined to bring charges in 2024 after reviewing a signed statement he said described voluntary drug use and consensual conduct, but he reopened the inquiry after new disclosures.
- Reporting of a Cornell police interview transcript in which the accuser told investigators she was '100% confident' she had been raped prompted calls for review because that language did not appear in the version prosecutors first received.
- Attorney General Letitia James has opened an active criminal investigation, Cornell supports the special‑prosecutor appointment and an independent external review, and the state review could take months and influence whether New York law on intoxication and consent is changed.